No words could expound how I felt when I first saw Mr. Falston. The moment I glanced at him, I felt the connection Tom had told me about. It felt as though an invincible string was pulling me toward him. An overwhelming emotion of excitement mixed with anxiety kept my heart pumping so fast I thought I was going to pass out.

Now that I stood right next to my father, I could see the resemblance between us. I had his teal eyes and brownish hair, though his was more of gray now that he had grown old. It made me wonder whether I would look as firm as he did when I reached his age. The black leather coat he was wearing matched the boots he had on. His outfit took me back in the obsolete days when technology’s existence was merely a thing.

Oh, shoot! He caught me staring at him. Instead of turning my head away, I smiled and lowered my head to show respect.

He laid his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it firmly. “Your sisters and stepfather would be really delighted to see you, son. We always talk about you.”

“I have sisters?” I asked, amused to learn that I had sisters. Never in my life had I lived with girls, and I wondered what life would be like to have girls in the house. I heard they could be a little noisy at times…well, most of the time.

“Don’t you have any memory of your past?” Mr. Falston asked, the wrinkles on his face extended far down. As frustrated as he was that I lacked memory of my past, I couldn’t force myself to pretend that I remembered any of the happenings in my early years. Lord Blair must have erased them, or done something to make me forget about my childhood.

I shook my head.

“It’s alright, son. You’ll gain your memory back once you meet your siblings,” he said, grinning at me with a sympathetic look on his face.

“Thanks, Mr. Falston.” Right after I said his name, I immediately regretted it. I should have addressed him properly.

“Call me Father, or Dad if you want since we’re now in the modern days,” he said as quick as the last word slipped from my lips.

“Yes, Dad.” My cheeks burned red. Rolling the word ‘dad’ on my tongue felt strange, but right at the same time. It sounded natural. Knowing that my dad belonged to the ancestors of Omegas held me in awe. I still couldn’t believe that a slave like me would turn out to be the last heir of the Omega of the Falston pack. Who would have thought?

For the second time, Dad stole a glance at his watch. He then looked out the window. Sunset was nearing closer.

“I wouldn’t like to appear rude, but I have to get going now before darkness falls,” Mr. Falston, I mean, Dad said.

“Aiden seems quite ready to come with you,” Mr. Gryther said, smiling.

“Are you excited to meet your sisters? They’ll be thrilled to have you for dinner.”

I glanced at Tom, who looked as if smitten by the news of my departure. For a fraction of a time, I weighed the emotions stirring inside me. Should I go with Dad or stay there with Tom and the Gryther’s family? On the surface of my mind, I knew meeting my estranged family was the right thing to do, but deep inside me I didn’t want to leave this place that had served as my home. The Gryther’s family had been so kind to me.

A glance at Tom’s crest-fallen face told me everything I needed to know. He didn’t want me to go and neither did I. I didn’t think I was ready to leave the Gryther’s family’s side just yet.

“Can I stay here for now, Dad?”

A rather surprised look appeared on Dad’s face. He must have been expecting me to come with him. With slightly red face, he strained a smile, but through the glaze in his eyes I knew he felt disappointed, which made me rethink my decision.

“If you’re thinking about me, Aiden, I’ll be fine. I can wait for as long as a week,” Tom said, his eyelashes flicking quicker than normal.

“I was thinking if you’d like to move in since we haven’t bonded together for who knows how many years. I’ve lost track of time,” Dad said, forcing a laughter to lessen the awkwardness in the air.

“Move in? Does that mean Aiden will be living with you permanently?” Tom asked, looking so surprised at the news.

Dad nodded and looked at me for answer.

Tom stared at me and so did Mr. Gryther.

It seemed neither of them wanted to me leave. I knew I would love being with Dad and my siblings, but I had to be honest with myself. I doubted a new environment would benefit the baby. I looked up and locked my gaze with Dad’s to show my sincerest apology for what I was about to say. “Um, I think I’d rather stay here for now, Dad. Not that I don’t want to live with the family, it’s just that…” I looked down, unable to find the right words to explain myself.

Dad placed his middle and index fingers below my chin and raised my head up. “It’s alright, son,” he said smiling. “I’m proud that you know what you want. It will make you a good leader someday.”

“I’m so sorry, Dad.” Tears glazed in my eyes.

Without saying a word, he pulled me closer and wrapped his arms around me. He sniffed my head and buried his face on my shoulder. Only if I could pause time and make him hug me this way for eternity, I would have done so. But some things were out of our control. Whether we liked it or not, fate would dictate our destiny and time would tell when I could finally join my family. But for now, I was happy where I was…with the man who never gave up on me despite all the troubles I brought him.

The horse neighed, making me jerk out of my daze.

Dad looked out the door. “Martin is calling me to go home.”

“What an impatient horse,” Mr. Gryther remarked with a grin on his face.

Tom’s smile stretched to his ears. He looked more relaxed now, knowing that I’d stay behind. I thought leaving him behind temporarily would feel just fine, but thinking about it had already made me miss him. I doubted I could live a second without him at my side.

“Alright son, I’d better get going now before the night falls. Martin hates travelling in the dark.”

“I’ll come by some time,” I said.

“You have my contacts. Give me a call at least an hour before you come so that I can get things ready.”

“Thanks, Dad!”

I led him to the door; Tom and Mr. Gryther trailed behind. Embracing him felt as though a feather was lifted from my chest. No words could explain how complete I felt now that I had finally met my real father. I unwrapped my arms around him and watched his chariot take off. Waving him goodbye burdened me because I had quickly grown to love him in that short time we spent together.

“Take care, Dad,” I whispered under my breath as a bead of tear trickled down my cheeks.

As the chariot disappeared into the field of trees, a set of hands grabbed me by the shoulders. They were Tom’s. From behind, he buried his face on my shoulder and whispered in my ears, “You’ll see him again. We’ll go and visit them as soon things settle down.”

I closed my eyes and sniffed the air. The afternoon breeze refreshed my mind and eased my breathing. “We’ll start all over again.”

* * *

The next day came…

Right after breakfast, Tom and I had planned of heading out to the forest for a walk. But the sunny bright sky was clouded by Darren’s unexpected presence. Standing on the front porch, a vehicle recklessly parked in front of the Gryther’s mansion. Then, Darren stepped out and marched toward us, his face was cross. He looked so pissed his fists were clenched tight as if he wanted to punch either me or Tom. Worst both of us.

“Get your hands off my Omega,” Darren snapped, his words darted directly toward Tom.

Tom placed his right arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer. He darted an insulting glare at Darren, who looked even more pissed off now that Tom was playing with the strands of my hair. “He’s mine.”

“Fuck off!” he spat out. He stepped a foot forward on the steps, but hesitated at Tom’s uninviting glare. “Hand him over.”

Tom chinned his face up and glanced down at Darren. He didn’t say a word and let his silence speak on his behalf.

Red and purple veins appeared on the surface of Darren’s face. He clenched his fists even tighter this time. There was no sign of him backing down.

I glanced at Tom and then back to Darren. It seemed neither of them was willing to let me go, which made my heart skip a beat. Against my will, my cheeks turned red tomato. Not that I didn’t like the attention – I did, but not the consequences thereafter. For the sake of my child inside me, I didn’t want blood to shed in this place, or anywhere for that matter.

Silence hung in the air as the ambiance grew heavy. Rain threatened to come down as the clouds gloomed darker. Tiny beads of rain started trickling down – bouncing on Darren’s leather jacket. The humid air grew thicker as the smell of the dried soil lingered around us. Every fiber of my muscles tensed up. My nerves rattled. Both these men were unpredictable in their own ways. Anything could happen from this point on.

I crossed my middle and index fingers together and waited anxiously for the silence to be destroyed. A couple of seconds had ticked by, but neither of them took their eyes off each other. Breathing through my nostrils, I took a deep breath and gathered the courage to break this nonsense.

“I don’t belong to either of you two, so please stop this nonsense. We’re going nowhere, I’m telling you now,” I said in a firm voice, though my tone was a little shaky than I had intended.

Tom tilted his head and kneaded my shoulder. He pressed his lips on my neck, his stubble caused me to tingle. I managed to get a glimpse of Darren’s facial expression before Tom bit on my Omega glands, which made me roll my eyes at the back of my head. Train of teeth clasped on the pulse of my neck where my Omega glands were. Pressing those glands released sex hormones that caused me to feel hard down at my crotch. My dick suddenly stood erect at this awkward moment.

Forcing my eyes open, I saw Darren glaring at us. I caught him staring at my stomach. The disgusted look on his face told me he knew that I was with a child. He directed his gaze to Tom and the intense scowl on his face deepened. He took another step forward up the steps.

Tom was too distracted kissing me that he failed to see Darren approaching closer, an adamant look to harm us was on his face.

I kept my eyes on Darren; he never bothered to look at me. His gaze was fixated on Tom. I shoved Tom with my shoulder to alarm him of what Darren might do. One step away from us, Tom flipped his head to Darren.

“Don’t you dare take another step forward, or else you’ll regret you were born,” Tom said, his eyes turned red as his fangs protruded from his mouth.

“From this point on, I declare war against your pack and mine. Enmity will break out against our kinds and unrest shall befall your generation,” Darren announced, taking me by surprise by his use of strong language as he’d been so gentle upon our first encounter. We must have enraged him. Fear clouded me as goosebumps shot through my skin. He shifted his eyes on me. “What an abomination! You’re the son of Lord Blair and yet you let a filthy dog defile you with his child. Shame on you, Aiden. I thought you were better than this,” he said, his words smacked me right on the face.

But then, I remembered, I wasn’t Lord Blair’s real son.

Darren had already come down stairs and just as when he was about to jump back on his horse, I yelled his name. “It’s not what you think it is, Darren.”

He just stared at me as if I had gone mad. His eyes glazed red with tears. At that moment, it made me wonder whether he had fallen for me in the short time he’d seen me. He must be quite desperate for an Omega. But as sorry as I was, my heart didn’t belong to him. Even if I tried and forced myself to love him, I’d just be fooling him and more so myself. Because no one could trick the heart.

“I’m a Falston, Darren,” I said with full confidence as I squeezed Tom’s hand for courage.

His eyebrows met and a deep frown extended far down his face. He jumped on his horse and pulled the rein back, making the horse neigh. “You’re stupid. I feel sorry for you, Aiden, because you’ve let that guy drive you nuts and lose your sanity. Good luck with your abnormal hybrid child and your exile from the Circle Tribe.” He was about to turn and leave when Tom stopped him.

“He’s telling the truth,” Tom shouted.

He refrained himself from going any farther.

“Whatever that old guy has fed you about Aiden, it was all a lie. Aiden is the son of Mr. Falston and is the last Omega heir of the Falston pack. You must have remembered the incident fifteen years ago when the last Omega heir suffered death. His body had never been found and that’s because he never died, Lord Blair took him hostage and made money off of him.”

Darren remained motionless for a while. It seemed the news of my true identity had proven hard to digest. Even I couldn’t believe it until now. Was it too good to be true? For me, yeah. But I didn’t know about Darren since he was considered a wise man, and so to be fooled by a trusted man as Lord Blair was a slap on his face.

He turned his attention back to us. “Don’t try and fool me. Lord Blair is a trusted and well regarded man. He could never do such thing.”

Tom crossed his arms against his chest and raised a brow at Darren. “We’re not entitled to explain ourselves to you, so it’s all up to you now if you’re gonna believe us or let that old man feed you more of his lies. Not that I give a shit, anyway.”

Darren tucked his lips and threw a major shade of glare at Tom.

“We’re telling the truth, Darren. I’m really the lost Omega heir. I have the DNA test result to prove it.”

“Don’t bother, Aiden,” Tom said. “He’s never going to believe you.”

“The last Omega heir possesses a birth mark of a crescent moon on his hip; show it to me,” Darren demanded.

Tom shook his head and sighed. “Stupid guy.”

I turned on my side and pulled my pants down slightly. The crescent moon shone brightly in the reflection of the sun. It stood against my skin tone, almost glimmering in it radiance.

Darren’s mouth hung open and his eyes glistened in bewilderment. “How could that happen?”

“You better ask Lord Blair yourself. He has all the answers,” I said.

“Only if he is willing to confess and make a fool of himself by admitting that he is the mastermind of this chaos. He’s too afraid to ruin his image,” Tom jumped in.

Darren came down from his horse and walked back toward us. From inside his jacket, he grabbed a scroll. Standing before us, he reached out his hand with the scroll in it. “I have no need of this, it’s now yours. Do as you see fit.”

I took the scroll and observed it from one tip to the other. “What’s this?”

“It’s the deed to the Blair manor and the entirety of their land.”

“How come you have this?”

“Lord Blair pawned it to me. I’ve got nothing to use it for,” he said in a humble tone.

I swallowed, taken aback at his generosity. “What about the money you spent on this? I’m sure it must have cost you more than Lord Blair could repay in a lifetime.”

“Don’t worry about it; it’s just money. You can use that to take vengeance on him. As for me, I don’t want to do anything with him anymore. I’m cutting my connection with him and his allies; I’m sure they’ve got something to do with this. He couldn’t have done this alone.”

I flipped the scroll around and read the letters inscribed on it. “I’ll take this as a massive appreciation of your contribution to the progress of the issue. This will help a lot to improve the Blair’s way of life. We just need to kick that old man off the throne and make him pay for what he’s done to me.”

“Right.” He nodded and motioned his head toward his horse. “Wish you all the best,” he said to me. Then, he brought his gaze to Tom. “Take care of him because I’m around to steal him.”

Tom smirked and rolled his eyes on Darren.

I watched as Darren got on his horse. An afterthought flashed in my head. That was right, we were having a grand party next week! Better to invite him there. “Darren,” I called.

“Yeah?”

“Pop by next weekend for the party. You never know, you might find a mate there.”

“Where about?”

“Here.”

He nodded and smiled. “I’ll see and try if my schedule allows.”

“Don’t try. Come for certain. I’ll wait for yah.”

Darren just smiled and kicked his horse forward. I just hoped he found the right mate for him. Such a kind guy. I’ll forever remember him. Because of him, the Blair pack would now have a brighter future and the key was in my hand: the scroll, the deed to the Blair manor.